Berkeley College Celebrates Contributions of Healthcare Heroes during National Nurses Week
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Senior Director, Communications and External Relations
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KME@BerkeleyCollege.edu
2024 Commencement Ceremony
Photo Caption: Starting on May 6, 2024, Berkeley College will join the nation in celebrating the contribution of nurses during National Nurses Week. (Right) Stephanie Santomieri, a 2023 Berkeley College graduate, is employed as a staff nurse in the Emergency Department of The Valley Hospital in Bergen County, NJ.
Berkeley College alumna Stephanie Santomieri completed her nursing education at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We lost loved ones, we lost patients, and we had sleepless nights when we quarantined from our families,” Santomieri recalled during a speech to Nursing graduates in 2023. “We used trash bags as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) due to the shortage.”
A year later, Santomieri is employed as a staff nurse in the Emergency Department of The Valley Hospital in Bergen County, NJ. She enjoys facing new challenges every day, and connecting with patients regardless of their short-term visits to the Emergency Department. Santomieri said she also values learning from her team and leadership within her department.
Starting on May 6, 2024, Berkeley College will join the nation in celebrating the contribution of nurses during National Nurses Week. The observance ends on May 12, on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. This year, nearly 100 graduates will earn Practical Nurse or Bachelor of Science in Nursing diplomas during the 2024 Berkeley College Commencement ceremony on May 9, 2024.
While Santomieri recalled a college experience filled with the challenges of transitioning to online learning and working full-time while parenting her daughter, she also remembers a time of resiliency.
“Berkeley College helped me be successful by ensuring that I rose to the challenges in the every-changing healthcare world,” said Santomieri, a resident of Glen Rock, NJ.
She said that resiliency has also infiltrated the healthcare system since the pandemic, marked by a renewed sense of pride in the nursing vocation, the perseverance of the human body, and the ability to formulate valuable relationships with her colleagues.
In the future, Santomieri plans to continue her education on the graduate level and increase her professional experience in the hospital setting.
Her advice to students interested in working in healthcare is to “find your village and focus on being the best you can be.”
As she told her fellow Nursing graduates last year: “We have become a unique family bound together by the experience of this part of our lives that will continue to mold our future. You are stronger, you are more resilient, and you deserve to be where you are today.”
About Berkeley College
Berkeley College, founded in 1931, is a career-focused institution accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that offers students Master’s, Bachelor’s, and Associate’s degree and Certificate programs in more than 20 career fields. The College also offers Continuing Education programs to enhance career credentials.
Berkeley College has campuses in New York City and in Newark, Woodbridge, and Woodland Park, NJ, with more than 3,500 students enrolled. In addition, Berkeley College Online® serves a global population. U.S. News & World Report has named Berkeley College among the Best Colleges for Online Bachelor’s Programs and among the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans, for 11 consecutive years. Berkeley College is also ranked among the Best Regional Colleges/Universities in the North in the 2023-2024 edition of the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges survey. The website address is https://BerkeleyCollege.edu.
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